China set to take on Obama by selling advanced J-10 jets to Pakistan

The Times of India

by Saibal Dasgupta, TNN 11 November 2009, 08:02pm IST

BEIJING: China has sent out an interesting signal ahead of US president Barack Obama's scheduled visit to Beijing by offering advanced fighter jets to Pakistan. It has agreed to sell $1.4 billion worth of J-10 jets to Islamabad days ahead of the visit of the US president Barack Obama to Shanghai and Beijing on November 15-18.

Chinese J-10 aircraft (Wikimedia)

The move is expected to jolt the US administration as it works on notes and talking points for Obama's meetings with Chinese leaders. He is expected to discuss Beijing's relationship with India and its role in internal conflicts in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Beijing is keen to reduce US influence on Pakistan, which will make it easier for it to deal with India, sources said. Washington's recent decision to extend massive financial assistance to Islamabad is seen in some quarters as a policy setback for China.

It is now trying to get back its influence over Pakistan by selling two squadrons of advanced jets, sources said. Even more significant is Beijing's eagerness to share advanced technology with Pakistan, which is something US suppliers are usually reluctant to do.

A report from Pakistan said it wants to buy a larger number of war planes from China besides the two squadrons of J-10 fighter planes it is buying at the moment. A Pakistani official described the plane sales deal as a "landmark" in Pak-China relations.

The J-10 has features of the Israeli Lavi aircraft and a Russian report indicates the Chinese had one of the Lavis that it used to produce the J-10 after the original J-9 program was abandoned.

In additon. when Hillary Clinton visited India, the US agreed to a mulit-billion dollar defense agreement. It is not surprising the Paks turned to China in view of the US-Indian agreement.

source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-set-to-take-on-Obama-by-selling-advanced-jets-to-Pakistan/articleshow/5220297.cms

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